Practical questions
During the GCSE Biology course you will complete practical activities from eight Practical Activity Groups (PAGs).
The exams will include questions about some of these experiments. You may also be asked to apply what you know to unfamiliar practical contexts, which will draw on your practical knowledge and understanding.
You could be asked to:
- write or identify a hypothesis or prediction that could be tested in an experiment
- name equipment and measuring instruments, and describe what they do and how they are used
- identify factors that must be controlled, and explain why
- describe how to work safely
- process data by doing calculations and representing it graphically
- identify patterns and trends in data
- evaluate the accuracy, repeatability and reproducibility of data, and identify possible errors and anomalous results
- suggest improvements to methods
- interpret data and draw conclusions from it
Practical questions will appear throughout both exam papers (Breadth and Depth), and at both Foundation Tier and Higher Tier. Practical questions could be multiple-choice or free-response, and could include calculations. A six-mark question could be asked in a practical context, so practice writing in detail about the practical work you have done.
It's important to look back at your lab book or your notes from the practical activities you have done when revising for your exams.
Sample question 1 - Foundation
Question
A student does an experiment to find out more about how the process of osmosis works.
The student was provided with ten pieces of potato, each about 5 cm long.
She was also given five dishes each containing a different unknown concentration of sugar solution.
The student put two pieces of potato in each dish and left them for 30 minutes.
She then removed the potato pieces and re-measured their length.
Why does this method not measure the total change to the pieces of potato? [1 mark]
OCR 21st Century, GCE Biology, Paper J257, 2016.
Does not take into account the width of the potato [1 mark]
Sample question 2 - Foundation
Question
Sarah was investigating if there is a link between reaction time and age.
She measured the reaction times of ten people, each with a different age. She did this once per person.
Sarah decides that she needs to improve the reliability of her experiment.
Suggest how she would do this. [1 mark]
This question has been written by a Bitesize consultant as a suggestion to the type of question that may appear in an exam paper.
She should measure the reaction time of each person more than once
Sample question 3 - Higher
Question
A student does an experiment to find out more about how the process of osmosis works.
The student was provided with ten pieces of potato, each about 5 cm long.
She was also given five dishes each containing a different unknown concentration of sugar solution.
The student put two pieces of potato in each dish and left them for 30 minutes.
She then removed the potato pieces and re-measured their length.
How could the student modify the experiment to show the rate of water movement by osmosis in pieces of potato? [2 marks]
OCR 21st Century, GCE Biology, Paper J257, 2016.
Set up experiment as above and re-measure every 10 minutes (or another suitable time period). [1 mark]
Find out how long it takes until there is no further change in length of the potato. [1 mark]
Sample question 4 - Higher
Question
Zak is investigating the most effective method for staying warm on a mountain. He sets up test tubes as shown below.
The test tube on the left has no insulation. The middle test tube is wrapped in cotton wool. The test tube on the right is wrapped in wet cotton wool.
Describe an investigation that Zak could carry out to find out more about the most effective conditions for staying warm on a mountain. [4 marks]
He also has access to thermometers, hot water and stopwatches.
Include information about what data will be collected, how it will be recorded and how it will be made valid.
OCR 21st Century, GCE Biology, Paper J257 - Higher, 2016.
A lot of questions have more marking points than there are marks available. Here there are five marking points, but the maximum you can get for the question is 4 marks.
- Place same amount of hot water in each test tube. [1 mark]
- Take temperature of water with thermometer. [1 mark]
- Take temperature of water in each tube each minute. [1 mark]
- For 10 minutes or another suitable time period that is stated clearly. [1 mark]
- Record in a table. [1 mark]
More guides on this topic
- How do substances get into, out of and around our bodies?
- How does the nervous system help us respond? - OCR 21st Century
- Why do we need to maintain a constant internal environment?
- What role do hormones play in human reproduction? - OCR 21st Century
- What can happen when organs & control systems stop working?
